Endless Love
by Twilight's Enchantress
Summary: AU; Different stages of love between Anna and Mikoto
1. Chapter 1

**Someone Cares**

8 year old Anna Kushina ducked her head as she ran into an alley, hoping to find a spot to settle and wait for a reprieve from the torrent of rain. She was a small girl; it would make it easy to hide from the onslaught.

As she leaned against the side of an old brick building she pushed her long white hair out of her eyes. Water dripped down her face, hiding the fact that tears were streaming out of her red eyes. It had been a long, hard day trying to find a place to stay. She missed her Aunt's place...but she couldn't stay. Not now that everyone knows of her "abilities". A strain, they called her. Something cursed in her Aunt's society. No, it was safer for her to leave. Out here, no one knows who she is..._what _she is. She's no one...

Just then two men rushed down the side walk, ducking their heads against the rain. To her surprise, she could actually _see_ them. It was like...they burned red...It was..._beautiful._ She ached to touch...Red was friendly to her. Red was her friend. But she stopped herself. She didn't need them knowing what she was.

She stood silently and went to quietly make her way down the alley when she bumped into something, causing a loud rash. She froze, hoping that the two men would just continue past, not paying attention to her. To her dismay they didn't. They turned and looked in her direction, pausing their rush. The one who's red burned brighter walked up to her. She took a step back away from him. No one could know.

He paused a few feet away from her. He didn't say anything...just looked her over. She looked down at her feet in shame, knowing what he would find. A small girl in a dirt covered dress that was soaked, old shoes a little too small, and hair that never wanted to stay where she put it. She just waited for his condemnation, his disgust. But he just stood there, silently. Finally, she chanced a look up. He was holding out his jacket to her.

Surprise lightened her features. Why would he do that? Why would he give her something nice? He didn't know her. She eyed him warily for a moment deciding if he was tricking her, before grabbing it and slipping it over her shoulders. It was warm. It was too big, coming down to her ankles.

The man held out his hand to her.

"I'm Mikoto. What's yours?"

Her eyes darted between his hand and his face, before reaching out and putting her small hand in his.

"Anna." She replied softly, knowing he could hear her anyway.

A small smile graced his lips.

"Nice to meet you, Anna. Why don't you come with me and we'll get you dry and warm hmm?"

Before she even thought about it she walked away with him, somehow knowing that everything would be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Taking care of her**

Anna moaned as she rolled over in her bed, sweaty, clammy skin evidence of a fever that was making her miserable. Everything hurt. Everything felt like she had hundreds of tiny needles burrowing into her skin. It _hurt._

Just then the door to her room opened, letting the light from the hall shine on her face. She pulled the blankets over her head before rolling over again. The light hurt her eyes.

Footsteps sounded lightly across the wooden floor as someone aproached her bed. She made a face into her pillow but ignored the person. She didn't want company...she wanted to be left alone.

The person sat gently on the edge of her bed right beside her, not wanting to jostle her too much.

"Anna...come on. I need you to wake up for me." Mikoto's voice sounded from beside her.

She made another face. She didn't want to move...not even for him, one of her favorite people. She lifted up a hand and made a shooing motion to the man beside her. Maybe he would actually listen to her for once. To her dismay she was mistaken. Mikoto just grabbed her hand and held it in one of his.

"Come on, Anna. Cooperate a little would you. You need to eat this."

Anna groaned. She didn't want to eat. She wanted to be left alone.

"Leave me alone, Mikoto. Go 'way." She rolled over slightly, enough to try and push him.

"No." He responded, voice amused by her antics. He grabbed her lightly by the shoulder and rolled her over some more, before wiping her head with a cool cloth. He reached towards the nighttand beside him for the bowl of broth he had sat there. He held it to her lips for her to sip. She took a swallow. Surprisingly, it didn't make her feel worse like she expected.

Once she finished the bowl he sat back on the stand before wiping her brow again. Before drifting off she softly asked,

"Why are you here?"

He paused before continuing on with his task.

"I care about you, Anna, as hard as that is for you to believe it's true. We all do. Me, Tatara and everyone else. You're family and family takes care of each other."

Anna just layed there silently while he tried to cool her down before drifting back off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Grief**

Anna ran to her room. She didn't want company. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to be alone when she finally broke down and cried. Everything had happened so fast. Just this morning he was there, laughing at something Izumo had said, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her close. And now...he was gone.

Anna finally got to her room and slammed the door behind her. She flopped down on her bed, pulled a pillow over her face and cried. Sobbed more like. Everything she'd been locking up inside since she found out just came pouring out. He was gone. Tatara was gone and he wasn't coming back. He wouldn't smile at her every time she convinced herself to talk in public, wouldn't laugh when she would just run up and hug him, wouldn't hold her when she cried because no one would pay attention to what she was trying to say without speaking. He was just...gone.

Anna heard the door to her room open. She whimpered, turning and burying herself even more into the bed. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone?

Footsteps sounded as the person made their way to the bed. The bed dipped slightly as the person sat beside her. She didn't need to look to see who it was. Mikoto.

Mikoto sat beside Anna, not entirely sure what to do or say. He knew she was sad, they all were, but it went deeper for Anna. Tatara was always there for her. Mikotot tried to be, but he didn't always listen. Tatara did.

Mikoto gently laid a hand on her back, his hand jolting with her body a she sobbed. Finally, he couldn't stand it and just grabbed her and gently pulled her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around before burying her face in his neck and continued crying. Mikoto just gently rubbed her back before placing a small kiss on her head. There wasn't anything to say.

They stayed like that til well after dark and when Anna finally fell to sleep, it was to Mikoto's arms holding her tight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sending her away**

"What the heck! No way! I'm not going!" 18 year old Anna yelled at Mikoto before storming out of the bar, door slamming in her wake. How dare he try to send her away! She didn't even want to go to school! She wanted to stay here, with her family.

In the years that had passed since Tatara's death, things had changed. They now had an agreement with the Blue King, they were friends with the Silver King and his strange friends, and there was now some semblance of peace in the world. Tatara would be happy.

Anna swiftly walked down the street, anger rushing through her veins. She wouldn't go to school, and they couldn't make her!

Mikoto and Yata had ganged up on her, telling her that they'd sent applications in to different schools for her. Without telling her first. They'd thought she'd be happy (well, that's a bit much. They'd thought she'd be understanding.) and go and be happy. But she wasn't happy, not in the least bit. She hates school with her entire being. Why would she want to go live at one. Sure, Yata'd said that he'd move with her, but she didn't want to go. That was final.

When Anna finally returned home that evening, she'd pretty much calmed down completely. She quietly walked through the door, knowing that the others were asleep. To her surprise, Mikoto was sitting at the bar drinking a beer, waiting for her. She warily closed the door behind her, not sure if she wanted to stay on a room with him or run. She eventually made her way over to him, settling on the stool beside him. He watched her silently, just observing her, before facing straight ahead again. For a guy with anger issues with everyone else he sure was infinitely patient with her.

"I'm not going, Mikoto. My life's here, not some stupid school away from my family. Accept that." Anna stated quietly but firmly. Mikoto drank in silence a few more moments before nodding.

"Okay."

She sighed in relief, having expected him to put up some sort of fight. She leaned into his side, waiting silently for him to finish his beer. When he did, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her down the hall towards her room. At her door he bent down, as she was still very short to her dismay, and kissed the top of her head.

"Night Anna." Then he walked down the hall to his room. When she shut the door behind her she pressed fingers to the spot his lips had touched, wondering why there were butterflies in her stomach.

_What was she feeling?_


	5. Chapter 5

Final chapter guys! I know this has an abrupt end but I wasn't entirely sure on where else to take this. Hope you enjoy:)

* * *

"Dude, you'll never believe what just happened! Anna went out on a date!" Yata exclaimed loudly, busting through door to the bar. He stumbled under the weight of the grocery bags in his arms. Izumo walked around the bar, reaching to help him. Mikoto sat in his chair watching them, a stunned, shocked look on his face. His mouth was hanging open.

"Shut your mouth, Mikoto, before you let the flies in." Izumo commenting jovially, enjoying watching Mikoto's expressions. Mikoto snapped his jaw shut with an audible click. Yata laughed.

"Dude! You should've seen the look on your face! Priceless." Yata continued his chuckling even with Mikoto glaring at him. They've become good friends over the years, so he knows Mikoto won't hurt him. He reached into the fridge under the bar and grabbed a beer for himself and Mikoto. He tossed one in the leader's direction, knowing that it would be caught. Mikoto reached into the air and grabbed it, twisting off the bottle cap with a swift move.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mikoto stated before taking a sip of his drink. He knew exactly what Yata was talking about, doesn't mean he wants to acknowledge it. He didn't know why he reacted the way he did. And that was strange.

"So, what was the guy like?" He tried to casually ask, but from the expressions on the others faces, knew he hadn't succeeded. What was going on? Why did he feel so territorial? Anna was her own person. If she wanted to go out, then she could. End of story.

"I guess the term tall, dark and handsome would fit the guy to a T. He seemed nice, I guess. Didn't stop me from planting a tracking bug on him though." Izumo let out a sigh at this. Of course, these hooligans wouldn't stop and think about Anna's privacy.

"Whta's up with you bartender? Why the exasperated sounding sigh?" Yata questioned. He thought they'd think that was a good thing.

"Yata, you of all people, being Anna's bodyguard and best friend most of the time, know that the girl likes her privacy. You just violated it by spying on them." Izumo stated. He knew the young man meant well, but he also knows how Anna would feel if she found out. Yata's face fell.

"Do you think she'll be really mad at me? I just wanted to make sure she was safe." Yata asked sadly. Anna was one of his only friends, she was actually pretty much the only one who understood the mask of anger he wears. He didn't want to lose that. Izumo patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry. She'll forgive you one day. Though when that day is, I don't know. That's even if she finds out." Mikoto watched Izumo comfort Yata. He was wondering why he was affected so much by this.

"Oh, I already know Mr. Bodyguard over there was spying on me. I knew as soon as he placed the bug." A small voice stated from the doorway. All the men jumped, as they hadn't heard her walk in.

"Anna! I'm so sorry, please don't be mad." Yata said, almost cowering. They all knew how powerful she was. He didn't really want to be on her bad side.

"Oh, I'm not mad. I'm furious. But we can work through this like civil people." She said calmly, walking up to the bar. She helped Izumo unpack the groceries. The man smiled at her in thanks.

Mikoto watched her silently, oblivious to the looks he was getting from Izumo and Yata. Izumo finished the last of the groceries before clearing his throat.

"So, I'm gonna go start dinner. Yata, you're coming with me. Now." He grabbed the younger man by the arm and all but dragged him around the bar. When he reached Mikoto he paused, leaning over to whisper to him.

"You've got it bad. Don't ruin it." With that he walked away, ignoring Mikoto's sounds of protest. Mikoto turned to look back at Anna.

_This was gonna be interesting._

* * *

Anna watched Mikoto out of the corner of her eye. She knew exactly how he reacted to her going out on a "Date". What nobody knew was that the guy she left with, was a friend from across town. He was also from the Blue Clan. He knew that she liked Mikoto and helped her set this up. Who knew that the Blue Clan could be so sneaky?

She continued to watch Mikoto trying not to sigh. She knew he would war with himself over this, even if it was what she wanted. She turned and walked over to him, taking a seat beside him.

"Mikoto?"

"Just what were thinking... going on a date with a guy that no one here knows?"

"He just asked if I wanted to get a coffee. So, I didn't think a big deal about it. He seemed nice." She calmly stated, watching as Mikoto's eyes flared with suppressed anger. She laughed silently to herself. Now, this was gonna be easy.

"He could've been there to hurt you! He could've taken you away and we wouldn't have known! What the hell were you thinking?" He almost shouted, barely tempering his voice. He didn't know why he was angry, just knew that he was.

Anna let out another sigh. He was almost hopeless. He didn't realize any of it.

"Mikoto, he wouldn't have hurt me. Can't you see, I knew the guy. He was a friend." She hoped that that statement would finally give him a nudge in the right direction. Unfortunately, it only made him more mad.

"A friend! We didn't know the guy, how could he be a friend?"

"I can have friends outside of you guys you know. You don't control me." She said, annoyance infused in her voice. This was getting on her nerves now. Maybe she was wrong in her suspicions that he might like her romantically.

Mikoto's face dropped.

"I never meant to say we did, or that we should. I'm sorry. I was just worried." She watched him state this in almost a voice of resignation. While yes, she was mad he implied what he did, she also knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

"Mikoto, I love you." She stated, tired of waiting, deciding to just get it out there. He looked back at her with the softest expression she'd ever seen on him.

"I love you too. That's why I worry so much." She growled in frustration.

"No, I love you as in actual love. You know, dates, and flowers and kisses. I've been trying to tell you subtly all day! Men!" She turned as if to storm off, but a hand grasped her arm and pulled back.  
Pulled her back so much that she felt lips seal across hers. She grasped Mikoto's shoulders, not entirely sure what to do.

Mikoto kissed her like a drowning man in desperate need of water. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. He only knew that it felt right, like puzzle pieces falling into place.

There was definitely more to deal with, and a lot of arguments and fights in their future. But for now, they'd just take life as it came. Together.

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Thanks for reading!


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